Tandem Confinement
by Mandarin Fiend
Summary: Squall and Rinoa get taken, and get locked in a 6 by 2 cell. Alone. Indefinately. Personalites, and beliefs clash, but will something new be born out of it?There is more to their predicament than meets the eyes ...
1. Capture

Squall felt uncomfortable, and disgruntled. He looked furtively towards the great oak door barring his escape, and sighed. Couples waltzed passed, all dressed extravagantly. You could practically see the wealth dripping off them, in the form of fancy clothing and jewelry. Unfortunately, Squall was stuck here till midnight. He took a sip out of the glass in his hand, and grimaced at the bitterness of the drink. He didn't particularly care for the taste of alcohol, but he needed something to do with his hands, and it was the perfect excuse to decline requests for a dance. Squall kept his eyes firmly on the ground. He didn't want to make any eye-contact, least someone took it as an invitation to come over and talk to him. Unfortunately, there were some people who just couldn't take a hint,

"Ah! So you're the president's son eh?" Squall gave a curt nod to a random guy wearing a cowboy hat, with long hair. Surely that would be against the dress code? Squall thought bitterly about his normal clothes, about how he wasn't allowed to wear them, and how they looked no where as strange as this guy's cowboy getup.

"So what's it like to be the 'long lost son'? I saw that article," Squall cringed. He'd very much like to kill that stupid reporter, and his idiot photographer.

"I heard you have a problem with the ladies, they can't get enough of you! I can relate to that, have the same problem myself. Ladies come flocking to me, but luckily there's enough of Irvine to go around." said Irvine grinning broadly, eyeing nearby groups of women. Squall rolled his eyes, and looked away, hoping to kill the conversation.

"I'm Irvine Kineas by the way, second in command for security." he added as an after thought, offering his hand. Squall ignored it.

"Ouch." said Irvine withdrawing his hand, "That magazine was right about you. The war must of sucked!" _No kidding ... _thought Squall.

"Heard about what happened in that village. That was very brave of you." _Shut up ... shut up ... _thought Squall. He really did not want to talk about it.

"Is what they printed true?" asked Irvine, clearly interested.

"I don't want to talk about it." said Squall coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fair enough." replied Irvine, but his attention had shifted elsewhere, to a brunette girl walking past. Irvine started walking after her,

"Nice talking to you Squall." said Irvine with a tip of his hat, then he was gone,

"He baby ..." Squall heard him say as he caught up to the girl. Squall sighed. He leaned back against a pillar, hoping to blend into it.

(.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

_'If we don't kill them, they'll kill us all first!" this statement was greeted with an outburst of angry agreement._

_'Click' went Squall's camera. They looked like a pack of desperate animals. Squall pitied them. He spoke up._

_"But sir, that's completely unethical." he said quietly. His comment was greeted with an eerie silence. Someone cocked a gun._

_"Shut up boy. You don't know anything!" yelled the commanding officer. "I give the orders around here! You take orders from me! If order you to kill, you kill!" he was beyond reason. "We raid tomorrow." there was murmur of agreement. Squall looked around all the gaunt, dirty faces of the men. They were desperate. He understood that, but there was no way he could take part in what they were planning ..._

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall broke out of his musings as his senses suddenly started screaming at him. He had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him, that danger was nearby. His head jerked up, and he looked at the endless sky suspiciously. The whole ceiling was made of glass, it really was a sight to see. He gazed searchingly, but could find nothing obscure or incriminating. Just endless black, pinpricked with stars. Something flashed. Squall's eyes darted towards the movement, only to see a shooting star falling to earth. He followed its path, _I'm too paranoid ... _thought Squall sighing, but he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. The star vanished out of sight, but Squall allowed his eyes to wander. He caught sight of someone looking up in the same direction, they must have seen the star as well. It was a girl, with very long dark hair and warm brown eyes. She turned suddenly, as if sensing his gaze. Their eyes met, and she smiled, holding up one finger imploringly. _Huh? Does she mean the star ... _thought Squall. She started walking towards him.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Rinoa had spotted the boy from the far side of the room. He was looking at the ground sadly, leaning against a pillar. He was pretty for a boy, but well built with longish light brown hair that hung into his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone she recognized, looking for someone. Most probably her. She frowned, then started walking towards the good looking guy. Suddenly his head jerked up to the sky, Rinoa followed his gaze and saw he was looking at the sky. A star shot across the black night. When Rinoa turned back towards the boy, he was staring straight at her. She smiled, and held up a finger. He cocked his head to the side, which made him look incredibly cute. He was good head taller then her, even in her heels. It was his eyes that caught her though. They were a deep, dark, blue. Gorgeous as they were, there was something incredibly sad about them ... and familiar.

"You're the best looking guy here." said Rinoa, hands on hips. "Dance with me?" The boy took a sip of his drink, and there was silence ... _I'm going to be so disappointed if they guys an idiot. He is _hot, _but what kind of airhead can't answer a simple question? _thought Rinoa. After a few awkward moments of silence, the boy finally replied.

"I don't dance." he said. Rinoa mentally sighed with relief, he sounded intelligent enough.

"Let me guess ..." she said playfully. "You'll only dance with someone you like ... alright then," she went on her tippy toes, put one hand under his chin, and made circles in front of his eyes with a finger. "You're-going-to-like-me ... You're-going-to-like-me ..." she chanted. Rinoa suppressed a laugh. He was actually following her finger!

"Did it work?" she asked, removing her hands. He shook his head.

"I can't dance." he said looking away.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I can't be on the dance floor alone, besides, a good looking guy like yourself should be out there for everyone to appreciate." said Rinoa, taking his drink, putting in on the tray of a passing waiter. She took his hand, and pulled him forcefully away from the pillar. Squall didn't resist.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall hadn't been kidding when he said he couldn't dance. He'd never danced like this in his life. The girl with the white dress had caught him off guard, and he didn't know what to do when she grabbed his hand, so he followed. She pulled him out to the middle of the dance floor, then placed one hand on her waist, held one on her own, and put her hand on his shoulder. They started moving in time to the music, but Squall got confused and kept bumping into her. After nearly knocking her off her feet for the third time, Squall gave up. He tried to walk off the floor, but she grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Ok, I'll lead this time, you follow," she whispered in his ear. She placed his hand back on her waist, and put her hand on his shoulder again.

"And, one, two, three, one, two, three ..." she counted out loud. Squall started getting the hang of it. "That great!" she whispered, then they collided into another couple.

"Watch it!" said the male angrily. The girl glared back, and poked out her tongue. She then turned and smiled at Squall, who was looking a little lost.

"Lets try again." she said. as the song came to an end, Squall turned the girl out perfectly, and caught her in the crock of his arm.

"And you said you couldn't dance!" said the girl in mock anger. Squall shrugged. Another song started up. The girl's eyes lit up.

"I love this song! Just one more dance please? You finally have the hang of it! You lead this time." she said smiling serenely. Squall had a funny feeling he was going to regret this.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.)

The young reporter was bored stiff. For being such a prestigious, international event, it sure was boring. He yawned, and noticed his camera man was half asleep, leaning heavily in the tripod. He'd taped the speeches from various ministers, and generals at the beginning, but right then, the most interesting thing to tape was old people ballroom dancing. He stared blankly out at the dance floor, but then a couple caught his eye. They were young, and made quite a nice pair.

"Oh my god." said the reporter under his breath when he realized who they young couple were. It was the president of Ester's son, and the daughter of the Governor of Galbadia. He watched them for a few minutes. She was a graceful dancer, while he was just confused, trying to keep up. They collided head on with another couple, and angry glares were exchanged. The reporter slapped his cameraman.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

"W-what?" he said with a start,

"I want to to film that young couple down there." the reporter tapped his foot impatiently as the cameraman looked down sleepily.

"Hey, isn't that the boy from that teen magazine? He's the president's son ... Hey! That's the Governor's daughter!"

"Well hurry up and film it!" said the reporter slapping the camera man over the head. The camera man set up his gear as quickly as he could, while the reporter followed the couple's progress avidly. The boy seemed to slowly be getting the hang of it.

"Okay. We're ready, in five, four, three, two, one, you're on!"

"Hello ladies and gentleman. Here I am at the peace conference ball in Ester on this lovely night. This event marks the joining of two great nations, and out on the dance floor, the son of Ester, and the daughter of Galbadia are helping this unification ..." the camera panned out to the dance floor just as a new song started. The boy had really gotten the hang of it. He and the girl were dancing terrifically, oblivious to the camera. Other old couples actually stopped to watch them. The boy spun the girl out, catching her in his arms just as the song ended. There was a scattering of applause, then there was a loud noise, as if something had exploded. The building vibrated, then the room was plunged into darkness. Much chaos ensued, people screamed, other yelled louder to try to restore peace. A gunshot sounded, and blind panic broke out as glass rained down on the crowd. The music resumed, blaring out of the speakers. A few minutes later, the lights came back on. The young couple had vanished.


	2. Captivity

Thanks to those people who reviewed, they give me motive. (: and because I forgot it in the first chapter- **DISCLAIMER- **I do not own final fantasy 8 or anything affiliated.

When Squall awoke, his head was throbbing. He groaned and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He put a hand to the side of his head, and felt a large bump. Then everything came rushing back to him, the girl's smile, them dancing, the lights going off, her clinging to him, the ceiling shattering, being showered with glass, a sharp pain in the back of his head, and just as unconsciousness engulfed him, a gunshot piercing all the panicked screams ... Squall looked around himself. He did not like what he saw. He was in a cell, no larger than a small bedroom. The walls were a drab grey, the floor slightly covered by coarse hay. There was a heavy iron door, and a single barred window, very high up on the wall. Squall remembered being shoved into a tiny cell like this once before, but he pushed away the memory. He'd rather forget. Squall heard a moan. He turned his head towards the sound, and saw the girl he'd danced with lying at the far end of the cell, slumped against the wall, as if she'd been thrown there. She had a bruise on the side of her head, and numerous cuts all over her body. Squall got up, wincing slightly, and walked over to her. He moved her so that she was lying on her side, rather then hunched over. She shivered slightly. Squall frowned, tiny as the window was, it was still letting in a cold draft, and the girl was only wearing a thin sleeveless dress. He slipped of his dinner jacket, and draped it over her body. He went back to the far side of the cell, and sat himself in a corner. He looked out the tiny window, but he couldn't see the sky. It was overcast.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

The first thing Rinoa registered was that her whole body was aching. Then she remembered her struggle, how the good looking boy had gone limp with a dull 'thud,' then strong arms had grabbed her from behind. She tried to cry out, but her screams were lost amongst the general panic, and shattering glass. There was a gunshot, and she was being pulled away, as someone put their hand over her mouth. She bit down hard, and elbowed her captor hard in the groin. She heard a groan of pain, and they loosened their grip. She tried to run, but people were pressing in on her from all sides. She felt a sharp pain in her temple, then everything faded away. Now she had no idea where she was was. She sat up, and immediately felt dizzy. The ground was rough. She looked down to see concrete and coarse straw. Something slid off her back, a black jacket. She shook her head to clear away the dizziness, and looked up to see the guy staring at her, his face blank. He was sitting in a corner, leaning against the wall, an arm slung casually over a bent leg. He had a nasty bruise on his cheek, a couple of cuts, and clothes that looked worse for wear.

"W-where are we?" she asked, her voice echoing around the tiny cell. The boy turned his gaze to the window, and shrugged. His silence and blank face was unnerving.

"Do you know how we got here? Do you know why we're here?" said Rinoa, growing more and more anxious. The boy closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.

"Please ... Just say something!" yelled Rinoa, becoming hysterical. The boy opened his eyes, and looked at her out of the corners of them.

"Talking about it isn't going to help." he said coldly. Rinoa looked down, as tears blurred her vision.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

A soon as the words were out of his mouth, Squall regretted saying it. He knew it was a bit harsh, but he was just as confused as she was, and although he didn't show it, he was pissed. Pissed that he was stuck in a two by four cell, pissed that he'd let himself be taken so easily, pissed that he'd snapped at the girl, and even more pissed that he was feeling guilty about it. He heard stifled sobs from the other side of the cell. _Brilliant. I made her cry. _he thought. The sound was truly pathetic, and Squall wanted nothing more than to run away. He tried to block the sound out, but it echoed round the cell. Squall couldn't handle situations like this. The sound brought back terrible memories. He gave in,

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't know anything either." he said loudly, the girl looked up at him with large sad eyes, her face tearstained. "Just ... Please ... Stop crying ..." he said quietly looking at the ground. There was silence for a few moments.

"My name's Rinoa." said the girl.

"Squall." he replied. Again there was silence, but this time it wasn't awkward. It was tensionless, amiable almost. Eventually both fell asleep, as dawn broke.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

_Squall was struck brutally across the face, then a knee came up to meet his stomach. He fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him._

_"Stupid kid!" yelled the solider, throwing Squall savagely into a cell. "You'll stay here if you know what's good for you! We'll deal with you later." he said angrily, marching out and slamming the door on the tiny cell. Squall sat up, wincing. He'd taken more than his fair share of blows that day. Squall heard the clatter of guns outside. He hung his head, the massacre had started. The smell of something burning drifted in through the cell window, as did screams of terror, cries of pain, and yelled orders of men._

_"To your left! She's getting away!"_

_"Permission to check out the church sir, I believe they're hiding there."_

_"Permission granted. You six, go with him. The rest of you follow me ..." and so the bloodshed continued. Squall heard a woman sobbing outside his cell window. He tried to ignore it, but the sound was so heart breaking. Curiously got the better of him. He got up and looked out the barred window. What he saw made him sick. Illuminated by the full moon, bodies lay broken everywhere, and the ground was awash with blood. The body of a child, no older that five, lay riddled with bullet holes a few feet away. Squall swallowed, and cursed under his breath. Then he saw the woman sobbing. She stumbled through the trees, crying out a name in her native language. She had a wound which caused her to limp, clutch her shoulder. She gasped, and ran as fast as her injury would allow, to a child. It was young girl, with curly hair, covered in blood with a spattering of bullet holes across her torso. The woman let out a low guttural cry, and threw herself towards the young child's body. She held the girl in her arms, inconsolable. Squall held up his camera, which still hung around his neck, and clicked. The woman didn't even notice the flash. Just like she didn't notice the soldiers come back. She didn't notice them laughing at her prone body, rocking the dead child back and forth. She didn't notice them aim their guns. She didn't even notice when they cocked them ... Finally the sound of her sobbing ceased. The soldiers left Squall with an eerie silence. He took one more picture, of mother and daughter. They would have looked like they were sleeping, were it not for the blood. He stepped back form the barred window slowly, his whole frame sagging. Suddenly he punched the wall in anger, adding a bloodied knuckle to his injuries, and a dent to the wall. He turned, and allowed himself to fall against the wall and slide down. He put his face in his hands, and tried to block out the sound of the slaughter._

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Rinoa was jerked into consciousness by the sound of the metal scrapping against metal. She opened her eyes wearily, just in time to see a small trap door slide close. She picked herself up off the ground, and saw a tray with a loaf of stale bread, a glass of water, and a bowl of unknown substance. Suddenly she realized she was ravenous. She looked towards Squall in his corner. He'd moved during his sleep, and was spread-eagled, with his face towards her, rather than facing the wall. Rinoa walked over and crouched next to him. As he breathed, his hair moved in and out. There was a troubled look on his face, but apart from that he looked adorable when he was asleep. Rinoa was going to enjoy waking him up ... She poked him in the shoulder. He stirred slightly, so she poked him again, but harder. He rolled away from her sleepily. Rinoa suddenly had a bright idea. She put a hand over Squall's mouth, and pinched his nose with the other. A few moments later, Squall's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Rinoa's wrists, pushing her hands off his face. He jackknifed into a sitting position, breathing heavily. He looked at Rinoa.

"What the hell was that for!" he yelled angrily, unconsciously tightening his grip on her wrists, but Rinoa was too busy laughing to notice.

"That was _priceless _..."she finally managed to choke out. Squall realized there was really nothing he could do about it, so he released his grip, and turned to face the wall.

"Aw, c'mon Squall! Don't be so cold. I am very sorry, I could not resist." said Rinoa solemnly, though she was laughing with her eyes.

"This is a serious situation-"

"I realize that," said Rinoa sharply. "But what's the point in being miserable? We are obviously stuck in each others company, so we may as well try to enjoy it." she said logically. _I don't enjoy other people's company ... _thought Squall, _I tolerate it. _

"We have food by the way. Looks like our captors won't be killing us after all." said Rinoa, getting up and fetching the tray of food. Together, they demolished everything, then they left the tray and empty bowls next to the trap door. Squall went back to his corner, and silently looked out the tiny window. It was about midday. Rinoa sat in the middle of the cell, bored stiff. Squall obviously wasn't one to converse, but after half and hour of silence, she couldn't take it.

"So Squall, why would they kidnap you?" asked Rinoa, her voice echoing around the cell. Squall shrugged, not even bothering to look at her. Rinoa frowned, slightly annoyed. "I'm the daughter of the Governor of Galbadia. They probably took me for ransom. Am I right in assuming that you're a rich politicians kid as well?" there was silence for a few moments.

"Kind of." said Squall finally. Rinoa sighed.

"Squall, we're in this mess together. Please don't ignore me, I need to talk about this, even if you don't."

"Then go talk to a wall." replied Squall coldly.

"Fine then! I will!" yelled Rinoa, spinning around angrily to face the wall opposite to Squall's.

"Ok wall, this all started at the peace conference ball. My stupid father made me attend, so as soon as we got there I accidentally on purpose ditched him. Then I saw the most gorgeous guy standing against a pillar, so I asked him to dance. We danced, quite well once we got the hang of it I must say. The song ended, then all the lights went off. The ceiling shattered, then the hot guy, whose name is actually Squall I now know, passed out. I think someone smacked him in the head. That's what it looks like from that nasty bruise on the side of his face. Anyway, someone grabbed me from behind. The good news, that guy will most probably have trouble having kids. The bad news, I'm stuck here in this tiny cell with someone who refuses to speak to me."

"Can you please shut up?" said Squall wearily.

"Make me." said Rinoa. She was in the mood to pick a fight.

"You're giving me a headache..."

"The feelings mutual, and you are interrupting my conversation with the wall. So anyway-"

"What are you trying accomplish?"

"My mother died when I was five-"

"You should stop being so immature."

"My father and I never got along, and I don't really have any other close relatives-"

"You're bleeding!" yelled Squall, cutting off Rinoa and jumping to his feet.

"What are you talking about, I-" but then Rinoa looked down, and saw that Squall was right ... in a sense.

"Squall, have your parents given you the talk? You know, about the birds and the bees?" Squall gave Rinoa an apprehensive look.

"Seriously, have they?"

"That's none of your business." said Squall, folding his arms across his chest, "What's important is that you're bleeding-"

"Oh my gosh. They haven't have they?"

"I don't have parents." replied Squall sharply. There was silence for a few moments.

"Squall, I have my period." said Rinoa. Squall turned a shade of pink, and sat facing the wall away from Rinoa.

**You know the drill - read then Review. (: I don't really like this chapter ... ... but it'll get better. **


	3. Compromise

"Well how was I supposed to know!" yelled Squall, clearly frustrated. Rinoa lay on the ground laughing nearby. After mocking him for the past half hour, she finally got a response.

"C'mon Squall, that's third form health class stuff! Who stabs someone in the butt? Why else would I be bleeding out the ass?" Squall's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he frowned.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, I'll quit it." said Rinoa still smiling. "Anyway, we're most likely being held for ransom right? We'll be exchanged for money, and everything will go back to normal." said Rinoa brightly.

"... I don't think its that simple." said Squall quietly, looking out the window thoughtfully.

"Why's that?" asked Rinoa,

" ... How is it that we were kidnapped from such a high-class event? There was a multitude of security, and yet the people who ... got us ... bypassed it. The ceiling wasn't regular glass, it's reinforced, and yet they smashed through it. There were guards, and they didn't notice anyone suspicious. They managed to get us both out, obviously by carrying us as we were unconscious, and into this cell. That suggests that this is more than just a kidnapping for the ransom money. Why steal from such a big event? Wouldn't it have been easier to apprehend us someplace else when we're alone?" said Squall,

"When you put it that way ..." replied Rinoa

"The only reason they'd do it this way would be for publicity, which suggests this is a political matter."

"And why is that?" asked Rinoa. Now that he was finally talking, she wanted him to keep going.

"Because-" but Squall was cut off by the hinge door swinging open abruptly with a loud screech. The tray with empty bowls disappeared, and a bundle of things was shoved in. The door swung close with a thud.

Rinoa scrambled over to see what they had gotten. There was some fresh clothes, a bucket of water, a face cloth. and strangely, some newspaper clippings. Rinoa pounced on the clothes. She held up a large white singlet, and a pair of black pants.

"These must be for you." said Rinoa over her shoulder, chucking the clothes in his general direction. Next she held up a pair of black shorts, a black tank top, and a blue duster.

"And these are mine." she said, giving the clothes a sniff. They were okay,

"Ar! What are you doing!" she yelled, turning around to see a shirtless Squall, only wearing the black pants, (which were a bit tight). He shrugged.

"Where else is there to get changed?" he said. Rinoa blushed as Squall pulled the singlet over his head. She couldn't help but notice that he _definitely_ worked out ...

He sat down facing the wall away from her. Rinoa blushed, she didn't know weather it was to give her privacy to change, or because he was being anti-social.

"I'm getting changed. Don't you dare turn around."

"Whatever." he replied in a monotone.

Rinoa quickly changed, and proceeded to giver her face a wipe with the water and cloth. The sack of magazines and newspaper caught her eye. She glanced back at Squall, he seemed happy enough facing the wall in his corner, so she let him be, and took a look at the article on top.

"Woah!" she exclaimed. The article was out of a glossy magazine, with a title proclaiming - 'Ten of the hottest guys around as voted by our readers!' but it wasn't the title that made her gasp, it was a full length picture of Squall next to it.

She had to admit, he looked _hot. _He was wet, with his hair hanging in tendrils around his face. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and brilliantly blue, but something about them was very sad. He was wearing a while t-shirt, but because he was soaked, it clung to his skin, basically see-through. His mouth was parted slightly, and one hand was clutching the front of his t-shirt. Rinoa tore her eyes away from the picture to read the caption -

_Squall Leonhart, the long lost son of Laguna Loire President of Ester. Long thought dead, and voted hottest guy by you, our readers! Read his story below._

Rinoa glanced back at the picture, then started to read the article -

_Squall Leonhart grew up in an orphanage, his mother died giving birth to him, and his father had been away trying to recover his now adopted daughter, who had been kidnapped to be a child slave in Estar. _

_The people of the village hated President Laguna, so when he came back, they told him that his wife, (Raine) and son had died during the birth. Squall grew up at the orphanage, and at the age of fifteen, he joined the armed forces, as a photographer of war. He took photographs of the atrocities committed in the Purge of Trabia, and -" _

The magazine was snatched from Rinoa's hands. Rinoa looked up to see Squall's eyes burning, and it wasn't quite with anger.

"Hey! I was reading that!" yelled Rinoa. Squall went back in his corner, the magazine clutched tightly in his fist.

"So you're the president's son huh?" asked Rinoa, Squall didn't reply. She rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"Look, we're stuck in this together weather we like it or not. I'm going to go crazy from boredom if you don't talk to me, and I'd like to know a bit about the person I'm stuck with." Squall stayed silent.

"So you were at the purge of Trabia?" still there was no answer.

"I heard about that. There was only one solider who didn't go mad and kill the townspeople. That was you right?" Squall spoke up for the first time,

"I wasn't a solider."

"Then what were you?" asked Rinoa,

"Just leave me alone." answered Squall, irritated.

"What is wrong with you! Would it be so much trouble to just talk to me?!" yelled Rinoa getting angry.

"What's the point in talking about it! It isn't going to change anything! I don't want you to know anything about me!" yelled Squall back.

"Arr! You are so frustrating!" yelled Rinoa. "You don't get it do you?"

"No, I don't think you get it. Don't you understand that anything we do while confined in here won't make a difference?!" Rinoa punched the wall with all her might in frustration, then plonked herself down angrily, her hand throbbing.

"It's makes a difference to the way I feel." said Rinoa, as hot angry tears spilled out on to her cheeks. "Can't you understand that? I'm scared, I might not see my Dad or friends again, I'm scared of what they might do to us, I'm scared that they might take you away, and I'd be left all alone ..."

"Its better to not get attached. That way it hurts less." said Squall. "Everybody leaves in the end, thats why its better to stay alone ..." Rinoa turned, her eyes brimful of tears, and fixed Squall with a stare. He flinched.

"Not everyone can get along by themselves Squall."

"What do you want from me?"

"Companionship." replied Rinoa. Squall frowned and cocked his head.

"And twenty questions."


	4. Comprehension

**YAY! I'm so happy! Thank you very much EmeraldLatias! Honestly, my spelling skills are equal to zero. I knew Esthar was spelt wrong, I just couldn't get it to spell right. I tried a couple of variations, (Ester, Easter, etc ...) but I went with the bible one in the end. Figured it was the least retarded one ... lol (- -; anyway, on with the story ...**

"What's your favourite colour?"

"I don't have a favourite colour."

"Okay ... how about food?" Squall shrugged. Rinoa put her hand to her head.

"Okay, lets made it simpler. What do you like?"

"I don't know." said Squall in the same monotone. Rinoa threw her hands in the air dramatically, in mock exasperation.

"This is so unfair! I only have five questions left, and you haven't answered anything!" said Rinoa crossly.

Squall shrugged. Rinoa had finally managed to get him to talk a bit, and after much threatening and bribery, she got him to let her have a ten questions. Thus far he had gotten out of giving a committed answer by answering with 'I don't know.' or 'maybe.' It was infuriating.

When Rinoa wasn't watching, Squall smiled. It was a tiny smile, verging on the edge of a smirk, but it was there. He had to admit, Rinoa was entertaining when she was angry.

Especially when she explained all the 'punishments' he'd get, in graphic detail complete with actions, if he didn't comply. Squall found he couldn't help but feel tranquil at her presence, he found he lacked the conviction to fight back, so he gave in and let her ask her questions. He kept a surly expression on his face, he didn't want Rinoa know, what? He wasn't quite sure. And besides, just because he let her ask questions, it didn't mean she was going to get answers ...

"Okay, we'll try this again. Remember, the reparations for not answering properly will be painful!" said Rinoa. Squall struggled to keep his face bland as Rinoa threw her hands up above her head, presumably trying to look bigger and more frightening.

"Okay. Easy one, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Really? Me too. You look a bit older I reakon," said Rinoa scrutinising Squall,

"But you act like a ten year old, spose that evens it out." she said breezily, shrugging.

"How tall are you?"

"5"11."

"In centimetres, we don't do metric in Galbadia." said Rinoa, Squall thought for a moment,

"About 180?"

"Aw man. I'm only 165. Stand up ..." Squall stood and Rinoa stood opposite him. She stood opposite to him, a little closer that Squall felt comfortable. She measured herself against him, only just coming up to his chin.

"You're really tall ..." she said looking up at him, she suddenly turned around, whipping Squall with her hair, then plonking herself down on the floor next to the forgotten stack of papers. Squall blinked, slightly dazed.

"Almost forgot about these." she said cheerily.

"I'll ask my last three questions after." she said, picking up half the pile, tottering over to Squall, then dumping it in front of him. "Lets go through these first. Maybe we can find out something about our captors." Squall nodded and picked up the first item on his pile, a newspaper. There was a picture of the wrecked ballroom, with glass shards layered thick over the floor.

The title read, 'Disaster at the peace conference,' he skimmed down the page, the article was full of information he already knew, '_The peace conference was disrupted yesterday, when an unknown group of people broke in, smashing the famous Esthar glass ceiling ...'_. Squall threw it aside, and moved on, when he heard Rinoa gasp.

He looked up at her, and their eyes met. Squall gave her a quizzical look, and she just stared back sadly, and handed over the article wordlessly. It was her silence that unnerved Squall, as he looked down at the page. The title read, 'The doomed couple,' he swallowed, and ran a hand through his hair nervously. There was a picture of himself and Rinoa, when they were dancing. His arms were around her, ready to spin her out. He turned his eyes to the article-

'_Squall Leonhart, son of president Loire, and Rinoa Heartilly, daughter of Governor Caraway, were abducted from the Peace Conference Ball yesterday. We have finally received contact from their captors, they call themselves, 'The Fane of Sephiroth," after the old folk story of Archaic Centra. They state, that there are not negotiating any terms for the captives lives, and - 'no one should count on seeing them again, their lives will be taken from them for the greater good, we are coming for the world next ...' The forces of Esthar and Galbadia are doing everything they can to trace the young couple, but thus far no hint of them had been found ...' _Squall stopped reading, and looked up to see Rinoa sitting, hugging her knees, face down.

He sat down slowly opposite her, against the wall. Squall found that seeing Rinoa so pathetic really hurt. He was useless in these kinds of situations, he didn't know how to comfort people, and he had never allowed anyone else comfort himself, preferring to bottle everything up, alone.

Rinoa let out a small sob. He couldn't stand it,

"Red." he said. Rinoa looked up, her face slightly tear stained.

"Huh?"

"That's my favourite colour." said Squall, examining the ground. Rinoa let out a small chuckle.

"I have three left right? Where did you grow up?"

" ... An orphanage. The original Matron was nice, but then she went away ... her successor was crazy. He ran the orphanage like a military camp, we all learnt self defence, and as little kids we had to do running, press ups, pull ups ... once he made me do a handstand for an hour. It got worse as we got older, so when I hit sixteen, I joined the army, as a photographer of war." Squall stopped, Rinoa walked over and sat next to him, her eyes imploring him to go on.

"So what happened at the purge of Trabia?"

"The unit I was with, was sent to guard a small village of bush Trabians. We basically occupied the town, they wanted the timber surrounding the village. The villagers were used as slaves, and some soldiers mistreated them horribly.

They were clever, even if they had next to no technology. They set all sorts of traps, and men kept going missing. This went on for months, and our numbers dwindled down

The ones that went missing were the vicious ones, the ones who beat village men for no reason, or did worse ... They became more violent as time went on, so more men went missing."

Squall paused, a strange look in his eyes,

"Then the lieutenant snapped. They killed the whole village, everyone, children, mothers, elderly, on his command ... There was nothing I could do. They were going to kill me as well, but then my father ..." Squall trailed off.

"I've heard of that, and seen pictures ... the ones of the woman and child nearly made me cry when I first saw them ..." said Rinoa, looking intently at Squall, who nodded.

"Her eyes still haunt me ... I can still remember ... how blank they were ..." Squall looked down, surprised, when Rinoa threw her arms round his middle, and buried her face in his chest. Squall stayed still for a moment, then put an arm round her shoulder. Something warm spread through his body. Comfort? The two fell asleep in the same position, and didn't wake when the trap door swung open, shoving more items through.

**You know the drill. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Don't worry, this story does have a direction.**


	5. Change

**I've decided to try a new format. You like? If you liked the other way better I don't mind, just say so. Also Rinoa and Squall's heights aren't the same as in the game, I know. I lost the instruction manuel a very long time ago so I just based the heights on people I know, not really important though. Long as Squall's taller. (:**

Squall was woken by a strange noise. He opened an eye sleepily,

'_Its just birds ...' _he thought, closing his eye again, in an attempt to lure back sleep. It wasn't any use, he was already awake, and the stupid birds would not shut up ...

'_Stupid sea-gulls ... " _thought Squall tiredly.

_"Wait ... Sea-gulls?!" _Squall's eyes snapped open. The sound of screeching sea-gulls drifted in through the small window, and shafts of light fell through the bars, highlighting the cell stripy. Squall was about to stand up, but something on his lap prevented him from moving. He nearly jumped up from sheer shock, realising it was Rinoa's head, who was still fast asleep. He stared down at her sleeping peacefully for a moment, frowned and shook himself, then carefully maneuvered her off his lap. He walked over to the window. All he could see was sky, and occasionally a bolt of white flit past. He'd been right, they were sea-gulls, and sea-gulls were found at near the sea ... he hoped his next assumption wasn't ... He jumped up and grabbed the bars, pulling himself up to peer out ... at the ocean below. His eyes widened in shock, as he watched ripples widening out in arks away from him across the water. They were on a boat? Squall's brain blanked. A boat? Squall jumped down, and realised that their captors had left another parcel. He was getting more confused by their actions every time they did something, why abduct them from a crowded _ball_, why put them on a _boat_, why leave them clippings that said they were going to die anyway, and why leave them parcels? He walked over, and saw that they had left a note, and some weird white mushy stuff, which he assumed was food. He opened the parcel first, and garments came tumbling out. He held up a white sleeveless frock, embroidered with black markings around the hem. There was something strange about it, it was nearly too white, and seemed to be giving off a very faint glow ... Squall frowned and put the dress down, reaching for something else, a vest. It looked too big for Rinoa, so he assumed it was meant for him. It chinked softly against itself as Squall lifted it. Squall looked more closely, and saw that it was made of some kind of pitch black metal. Many separate curved parts were intricately fitted together. It had white bits of metal, seemingly random, down the lapels, but Squall looked closer and saw they made patterns, kind of like the ones on the dress. Unlike the dress, the vest seemed to suck light out from the air, it almost radiated darkness. Squall didn't like it. He put it down, and reached for the last item, a pair of matching black pants. They were made of a thick black type of cloth, and looked as if they were meant to be tight. Squall frowned and tried to think. He sighed and grabbed the note the captors had left. He eyes skimmed over the two short sentences, widening in disbelief.

"You're joking ..." he said under his breath. He looked over at the stack of papers he and Rinoa hadn't read yet. He grabbed another off the top.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.)

Rinoa was woke with a start when she heard an loud 'thump.' She opened her eyes in time to see Squall hurtle himself at the iron door, with an even louder thump. He paced backwards, readying himself again.

"What the hell are you doing!" yelled Rinoa, alarmed by Squall's violent behavior. He stopped his run-up, and looked over at her.

"We have to get out." he said simply, starting to run again, barging into the door.

"No kidding, I already knew that. No reason to get beat up by the door." Rinoa stood up and stood in front of it.

"You don't understand," said Squall, leaning over to catch him breath,

"Hey look, they obviously don't want to kill us yet, they left some food. Man I'm starving." said Rinoa noticing the pot of strange white mixture. She Dipped a finger in it, and sniffed it suspiciously.

"Don't!-" yelled Squall, as Rinoa put it in her mouth, it had passed her inspection. She immediately scrunched up her face,

"Ew ... That's disgusting ..." she said thickly, it had tasted very bitter. She looked up to see Squall, horrified. A strange tingling sensation spread through her body, it felt funny. She laughed as Squall's face went out of focus, and the edges of his body became blurry. She looked down to see the ground beneath her face, without remembering falling. Squall's face was mere inches from hers, his mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Rinoa giggled, feeling light headed and sleepy. Squall was shaking her, his face looking panicked. Rinoa tried to move her arms, but they wouldn't obey her. Now she was starting to panic too. Why couldn't she move? Suddenly sound came back, loudly. There was a crashing noise,

"The master will be very disappointed to see that you aren't changed Squall." said new voice, "He had so hoped that you would cooperate ..."

"Shut up! We don't want to be a part of your crazy ritual!" yelled Squall.

"That's too bad ..." Rinoa felt unconsciousness creeping up her, she tried to fight it,

"Keep your hands off her!" yelled Squall. Rinoa jerked awake at the intensity in Squall's voice. She wondered what was going on, all the thumping and footsteps were coming from, Squall couldn't make all that noise himself ...Rinoa felt herself fade out, just as someone yelled-

"Hold him down!"

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall watched Rinoa go limp, and topple over. This confirmed his suspicion that the food was drugged, they wanted their bodies nice and pliable when they came. He fell to his knees next to her and shook her body,

"Rinoa! Can you hear me?" she looked at him, but her eyes weren't focusing properly.

"Can you move?" Squall saw panic flit across Rinoa's eyes, then they were blank again.

Suddenly the iron door flew opened, slamming against the cell wall. Squall spun around, to see a balding man standing in the doorway. He frowned on Squall sadly,

"The master will be very disappointed to see you haven't changed Squall, he had so hoped that you would cooperate ..." he said, his voice laced with disappointment. Squall felt anger bubbling up inside of him. Who was this guy to be disappointed? He hadn't been locked up for the past seventy two hours, or abducted, or told he was going to be killed as a sacrifice.

"Shut up! We don't want to be a paret of your crazy ritual!" he yelled angrily.

"That's to bad ..." said the man, sounding genuinely remorseful. He backed out of the cell slowly. "Master had so hoped for us all to get along ... I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." he said, his voice sounding unnaturally harsh. "Sieze the boy!" he yelled, pointing towards Squall. Two burly men stepped into view, both much taller then Squall, who was by no means short. Both obviously had brawn, from the sheer size of them, but neither seemed very intelligent, with rather simply expressions on their faces. This was confirmed as both tried to fit though the door at the same time, getting slightly stuck, until the balding man pulled one back, and pushed the other forward. Squall raised an eye brow, _'They're idiots...'_ he thought, lifting his fists in front of him, '_I'm not giving in without a fight.' _he thought, narrowing his eyes. One of the idiots let out a weird kind of battle-call, that sounded abnormally like a strangled animal. He launched himself at Squall, swinging an arm like a windmill, to bonk Squall on the head. Squall grabbed the guys arm, and quickly turned in, using the great brutes own momentum to throw him over his shoulder. He fell to the ground with a huge crash, as the second man whacked Squall across the back of his head, sending him careening into the cell wall. Squall groaned and rolled over, then quickly moved his head to the side as one of the idiots tried to step on it.

"No you idiots! We need him alive! Him and the girl! One of you get him, and one of you get her!" The man Squall threw started towards Rinoa,

"Keep your hands off her!" snarled Squall. He rolled backwards and got back up. The remaining idiot aimed a punch at Squall head, but Squall ducked and the man hit the wall instead, with a loud 'thud.' Squall quickly jabbed the man in the face, and kneed him in the groin. The giant fell to the ground, howling in pain. Squall jumped over his body, and launched himself at the other, who was leaning over Rinoa. He spear tackled the guy, and both of them fell to the ground. Fortunately for Squall, he landed on top. He immediately punched the guy in the face, knocking him out.

"That's it! You are incompetent fools! The rest of you, sieze the boy!" yelled the balding man from the doorway, letting more men into the cell. Squall found himself facing five more huge burly men. He cursed under his breath,

"I said sieze the boy! Why aren't you seizing the boy?" yelled the balding man, beside himself. They pounced all at once, then it was over very quickly. Squall was a good fighter, but even he knew he didn't have a chance in a six on one fight. He got in a couple of hits, knocking back a man, kicking another in the side, and elbowing another before one got him in in the face, knocking him clear off his feet. He smashed into the cell wall, again, then they were upon him, the six of them punched and kicking what they could reach of him, throughly winding him, until the balding man yelled,

"Don't kill him! Hold him down!" two men grabbed an arm of his each, making him immobile. Squall opened his eyes, and shock his head, trying to think clearly though the pain, taking deep heavy breaths. His whole body was bruised and battered.

"Force open his mouth," Squall immediately clamped his mouth shut, struggling violently to get free, but it was no use, he was too weakened and tired to try very hard. The two men had a very strong grip on him. Another squeezed his face, prying open his mouth, then the balding man forced a spoonful of the fowl white mixture into his mouth. Squall gagged, it tasted disgusting. He tried to spit it out, but they forced his mouth close, and pinched his nose. He couldn't help but swallow it. He felt himself go limp instantly, everything faded and went blurry. Just before he passed out, he heard the blad man once more -

"Take them to the fane, and get them ready." then everything went black.

**Dum dum dum! Until next time, RXR**


	6. Coerce

**On my computer, the type for the last chapter looked double-spaced, but then I looked at the preview and it wasn't ... so sorry (- -; Anyhow ...**

Rinoa felt a strange sense of deja vu, waking to find herself lying down on cold floor. She sat up slowly, and realised she was wearing a white dress,

_'I don't remember putting this on ..." _she thought, looking around to see she was no longer in the tiny cell.

Rinoa stood up, but immediately the world started to spin. She stumbled, and collapsed to the ground. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

I felt as if her head were filled with water, leaving no room for coherent thought, and making her uncoordinated. The water threw her off balance. She decided it would be safer to survey her surroundings from the floor.

The walls were made of huge black slabs of brick, that looked old and decrepit. It had a very, very high ceiling, lined around the edges with metal panels. Perhaps they could swing open? but they were a good five meters up, far too high for Rinoa to reach. There were no other windows, only a torch lit with fire on one wall, and a large brass door on the opposite.. The ground had a rug, faded with age, over plain stone.

_'This room is bigger ...' _thought Rinoa, _'At least it gives Squall more space to run away from me ... wait ... Squall!?' _Rinoa looked around frantically, to see that she was the only one in the room.

She took deep breath, and tried to calm herself. Without Squall's constant, cool, collected presence she felt afraid. Rinoa hugged her knees. She was all alone ...

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall opened his eyes reluctantly. He wanted nothing more than to sink into darkness, it provided release from pain. His whole body ached, but there was somebody relentlessly trying to wake him.

'_Stop toughing my face ...' _ thought Squall,

'_Just leave me alone ...' _he tried to swat them away with a hand, but he found couldn't move either of his arms.

He heard voices, and the sound of rattling chains, as the room started to come into focus. A person wearing a slaughterer's outfit was prodding him into wakefulness.

"He's awake now sir." said the slaughterer. Squall looked up, dazedly. He was being suspended against a wall by chains, his arms spread-eagled. He was also somehow wearing the black pants and vest. When had he changed?

"What is your name?" said a disembodied voice. There was something ... inhuman about it. Squall said nothing,

"Answer me boy!" again, Squall stayed silent. He heard the voice give a great sigh, then someone clicked their fingers.

White hot fingers encased his body, his bones were writhing beneath his skin, on fire. His back arched, trying to escape. Surely, he would die?

"Cease." immediately the pain stopped, and Squall's body went limp as he took huge gulping breaths, through lingering, dizzying pain. "Now tell me, what is your name boy?" Squall looked up, and spotted the speaker, a shumi?

He sat in a pod, a hulking figure. Squall hadn't even known Shumi grew that large. His while flabby skin was lined with age, and his shiny black eyes had a cruel glint in them. Squall glared at him, as he tried to catch his breath.

"Answer me! My patience grows thin!" he boomed. Squall chucked under his breath. In his exhausted mental state, the situation seemed comical. He was being tortured by a giant Shumi, so it could find out his name, so it could sacrifice him ...

"Why are you laughing!?" yelled the shumi. He clicked his fingers, and Squall felt white hot pain shoot through his body once again. They left it longer that time, until Squall felt as though his body was going to crumble.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME." repeated the shumi slowly, and loudly. Squall's cheat heaved in and out,

"I'm ... not going ... to tell you." said Squall through breaths,

"You're going to ... sacrifice ... me anyway."

"I demand you tell me at once, and WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!" boomed the shumi, banging his fist on his pod. Squall had chuckled again under his breath.

"Either way ... I'm going to be sacrificed ... I think I'll piss you off ... as much as possible before then." said Squall slowly, and difficultly. The chains were chaffing his wrists, and Squall found that it took conscious effort to focus his eyes. A combination of mental and physical stress was messing with his senses.

"You may not tell us, but the girl will, I'm sure." said the Shumi, with an evil hint of laughter in his voice. Squall's head shot up, and the chains rattled as he tried, unsuccessfully, to move.

"Leave her alone!" yelled Squall, not quite sure of where all the anger he suddenly felt had come from.

"It seems we have struck a chord," said the Shumi mockingly. He clicked his fingers, and Squall was once more encased in pain.

"Fetch the girl," said the Shumi to the slaughterer.

"You three, come with me." he grunted at three guards. They saluted, then left. The Shumi grinned evilly at Squall's writhing body, as if drawing pleasure from another's pain. Squall thankfully allowed himself slip into cool, blissful darkness, away from the heat of pain.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Rinoa sat shivering in the middle of the large room, it was freezing cold in only her thin white dress. She faced the door, hugging her knees, hoping like hell that Squall was okay.

She perked up when she heard a lock slid in the door. She stood up, only swaying off balance a little. The door opened to reveal several men ... none of which were Squall. One was dressed as a slaughterer ... they wouldn't have killed him already?

"What have you done with him?" said Rinoa, her voice trembling.

"If you come with us sweetheart you'll see." said the slaughterer in a lazy drawl, grinning toothlessly at her. Rinoa nodded and walked out the door. A guard flanked her on all sides, allowing no room for escape as they walked down a hall way.

Rinoa could faintly make out the sound of static electricity, far off. She ignored the suggestive looks the guards gave her.

The sound of electricity was getting steadily louder, as they walked further. The slaughterer opened a door, and suddenly the electricity got louder.

"After you." said the slaughterer nastily. Rinoa walked into the room, and gasped. Squall was being suspended from a wall by metal chains, spread-eagled. He was wearing weird clothes, a black vest, exposing his chest, and a pair of black pants.

His eyes were closed, his frame relaxed against the chains, but his hair stood on end. Electricity entwined itself round his bruised form, and although he was obviously unconscious, his back arched slightly away from the wall, as if trying subconsciously to escape.

Squall's face was twisted into a grimace, the electricity was obviously causing him pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" yelled Rinoa, trying to make herself heard over the sound of static reverberating round the tiny room. Instead of stopping, the electricity seemed to increase in intensity.

"I said stop it!" yelled Rinoa, walking forward towards Squall. Electricity branched off him towards her, striking the floor next to her, blasting her off her feet backwards.

"Cease." said a deep, blood-curling voice from the shadows. Immediately the electricity stopped, and Squall went limp in his chains. Rinoa turned round to see a massive white figure glide from the shadows. She screamed, as the figure said,

"Wake him."

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall heard Rinoa's scream, through the darkness. He tried to move, to opened his eyes, anything, but he found he was too exhausted to do anything, and something was holding him down.

Suddenly light flooded his vision, even though his eyes were closed. He was jerked back from cool, dark, unconsciousness, into the heat and noise of wakefulness. He opened his eyes weakly, to see Rinoa's terrified face staring up at him, tear-stained.

"Rinoa?" he choked out. It came out barely a whisper.

"Now girl, this boy had been very uncooperative, so we've had to punish him. We were hoping you could answer our questions better. If your answers are not adequate, I'm afraid we will have to punish him again ..." said the giant Shumi to Rinoa.

"Don't listen to him Rinoa!" said Squall weakly, "They're going to -" but he was cut off by the electricity being turned on again, and instead cried out in pain.

"The quicker you answer our questions, the faster the electricity will be turned off. What is this boy's name?" said the Shumi. Rinoa's eyes were on Squall. He tried not to cry out in pain, but the look on his face said it all.

"Squall -" the power was cut off and Squall was allowed respite.

"That wasn't so hard? Was it? Is he or is he not the biological son of Laguna Loire, president of Esthar?"

" ... Rinoa ..." said Squall though heaving breaths, "Please ..." but the Shumi cut him off.

"If I hear another word from you Mr Loire, it will be this girl on the wall, not you. Shut up." said the Shumi coldly.

Squall closed his mouth.

"Answer the question." he said to Rinoa. She was confused,

" ... Don't you already know? You gave us that article to read ..." said Rinoa confusedly. The Shumi's mouth immediately turned down in disgust,

"We do not want to rely on the word of an attention-seeking journalist. We must confirm."

"Why did you leave us all those articles anyway?" asked Rinoa, becoming more perplexed by the second,

"We gave you the chance to contribute to our cause willingly. Sadly, you turned down that path. Now answer the question!" said the Shumi, growing impatient.

"... I'm pretty sure he is ..." said Rinoa hesitantly. The Shumi's eyes seemed to pop out of his head with anger,

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'PRETTY SURE!' I NEED YOU KNOW FOR SURE!" he yelled,

"I'm sorry, I don't kno-" whispered Rinoa pale faced, cut off when the Shumi smacked her hard across the face, sending her flying.

"You bastard ... I'm going to kill you ..." said Squall, struggling violently against his chains vainly. Rinoa looked up at him. The fury in his voice scared her ... his eyes seemed to be glowing with anger.

Rinoa got up slowly, biting back tears. The Shumi laughed in Squall's face.

"Now you will answer by questions or else I will let my guards have their way with her." said the Shumi. Squall looked over at the three guards, and slaughter-man, then at Rinoa, who was eyeing the four men fearfully.

"I'll tell you what you want to know. Just don't hurt her ..." said Squall.

"That's better." said the Shumi, grinning triumphantly. "Are you Laguna Loire's son?"

"Yes." replied Squall shortly.

"Have you ever killed anyone."

" ... Elaborate, you mean directly?"

"Yes, yes." said the Shumi impatiently,

"No."

"One last question, I trust you are both still virgins?" Rinoa blushed deeply.

"Yes." said Squall, Rinoa nodded. The Shumi smiled.

"Perfect ... take them away." said the Shumi with a dismissive wave of his hand. One of the guards pulled down a leaver, and Squall was released from his chains. He fell to the ground, with a 'thump.'

Rinoa rushed over, and crouched next to him, her eyes scared and worried.

Squall tried to stand, but he was too dizzy, too tired, and in too much pain. He allowed Rinoa to help him walk. She was stronger then she looked, supporting most of his weight while they walked down a hallway flanked but the Shumi's henchmen. They were shown to large room.

Once locked inside, Squall allowed himself to collapse to the ground. He was too weak to push Rinoa away, when she put his head on her lap.

"Thanks Squall ..." she whispered. He struggled to stay awake, finally succumbing to blissful darkness, allowing it consume him completely.

**Sorry, I would have liked to have made it longer ... but here it must end until next time. You know the drill. (:**


	7. Commencement

**Sooooooo SSSSOOOOOOO sorry for the slow update. Honestly can't say how sorry I am. Please forgive me! (- -; My sister spilled tea all over they keyboard and the space button stopped working. Try not using the space button for a few months. Its horrible. :s **

He was surrounded by semidarkness. He couldn't move, it was as if his body was asleep, but his mind awake.

His body was breathing steadily, and deeply, while his mind was racing. For some reason he felt panicked, although he had no idea why. He heard someone else's breathing nearby, nearly sync with his own.

Though the semidarkness he could only just make out a dark sharp moving in front of his face. The sound of breathing came closer, then it stopped abruptly. A strange tranquility washed across his mind, replacing the panic.

His body shifted positions, becoming restless, just as his mind was ready to relax and be lulled to sleep ...

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

_Studies conducted by Galbadian and Estharian scientists alike, both conclude that Centra was decimated by a cataclysmic event, hundreds of years ago. _

_Different scientists disagreed on the finer point, such as when the event took place, (educated guesses ranged from five, to ten hundred years ago) what the nature of the mass was, (small planet, large meteor) and where the epicentre of 'compression' was, (some were sure it was near the tip of Centra, while others were adamant that it occurred further east, towards the Odin plains)_

_But all agreed on the larger picture - however many years ago, an extremely large mass passed very close to the surface to the earth. _

_The point it came closet to was definitely somewhere in centra. The gravity of the mass pulled oceans along with it, enveloping Centra with water. The mass moved on, as the Earth continued on its path around the sun. No one knows why Centra was so greatly affected, while the rest of the world seemed untouched. Centra, to this day, is uninhabited, and covered with think forests ..._

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Squall opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He'd had the strangest dream, but already it was slipping out of his mind, replaced by the aches and pains all over his body.

He felt like he'd been through a meat processor. He tried to sit up ... not a good idea, it felt like someone was pounding on the inside of his skull with a mallet. He could barely lift his head.

He groaned, and allowed his tensed muscles to relax painfully. He looked up, to see Rinoa above him. Her eyes were slightly red, like she'd been crying, and for some reason, her cheeks were rather pink ... almost as if she were blushing.

She fidgeted nervously, not looking Squall directly in the eye.

" ... I'm ... really sorry Squall." she whispered.

"What for?" he replied, wincing at how weak his voice sounded.

"Oh ... um ... don't worry, it was uhh ... nothing." said Rinoa awkwardly. "Do you know where these weird clothes came from? And why were you up on that ... wall?" asked Rinoa nervously. Squall closed his eyes. He really couldn't concentrate, the pounding in his head was too distracting. He took a deep breath, and sifted through his muddled thoughts, grasping what was important.

"You ... know of the old fairy tale about Centra ... don't you?" he said slowly.

"What? I think you should rest Squall, whatever they did to you obviously messed with your head-"

"No listen to me! That's what this is all about. We're sacrifices. They want to bring the guardian forces back Rinoa."

"But ... they're mythical creatures. Its just a story. It doesn't make sense,"

"It wasn't a meteor that came close to Centra." said Squall. Rinoa looked down at him concerned. She put a hand to his head,

"You feel kind of hot, I think you have a fever. Just try and rest ... Wait ..." whispered Rinoa. "C-can you hear that?" There was something thumping, it was getting closer, like a giant's footsteps. Rinoa could faintly make out people singing,

"It's starting." said Squall.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Long, long, ago, people populated centra. They lived in peace and prosperity, thriving on fertile Centran soil.

The serene calmness of Centra tamed even the most unruly hearts, and mellowed the hardest minds. The people of Centra worshipped gods called 'Guardian Forces,' who guarded the elements, and controlled them.

They gave offerings of fruit, vegetables, cloth, or meat, to appeal for good weather, luck, and to avoid anger and wrath. This was the way it always was, until a man named Sephoroith arrived on Centra's fair shores.

No one knew where he'd come from, but he was terrifying. He possessed inhuman strength, and used it to do whatever he wanted, and get whatever he liked. He committed crimes shamelessly, murdering, and stealing, sometimes simply because he was bored. The people were too afraid to stand up to him.

He named himself their overlord, and demanded tax. Those who refused to pay where dealt with. Violently. Sephoroith needed to assert that he was not to be messed with, he was in control.

He became interested in Guardian Forces, because of the great power they had, and their immortality . He sought to capture and control them, to keep them as slaves-like pets, and to become immortal himself.

He demanded the village priest to tell him how it could be done. The priest handed him a black bound book.

"It can't be done." he stated simply. "I suggest you read our sacred scriptures, it won't help you find what you seek, but hopefully it will make you a better person." the priest had said solemnly.

Sephoroith left the Fane with the priest's blood on his hands, anger burning in his eyes. The priest had no idea how wrong he was about the book, and the calamity it would bring about.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

**You've read it, may as well complete the process by reviewing it. Sorry about the shortness, but now that my keyboard is WORKING I'll be able to update more regularly. Cheers guys. I do have a direction for this story. Bear with me ... :)**


	8. Cessation

**Ok, so we have all already established that I can't spell for crap right? Sephoroith. That was a stupid spelling, but it was late at night and I couldn't be bothered to find the correct version. So here it is - SEPHIROTH. I knew there was an i and an r ... just got them in the wrong order ... :) anyway -**

"What's starting?" whispered Rinoa, as the beat of a pounding drum became closer, and the sound of voices became steadily louder.

Suddenly they were flooded with light. At the top of the chamber, rectangular squares lined the wall just below the ceiling. They were evidently trapdoors that opened outwards. The source of the voices peered down at them through the spaces, singing hauntingly.

"Squall ..." Rinoa whispered, staring round at all the faces bewilderedly. Squall breathing suddenly became very laboured, and he started thrashing violently, as if trying to bat something away.

The vest started resonating an eerily ethereal glow, and Squall cried out in pain,

"No! ... Get ... Out of ... Me!" he yelled angrily.

"Squall!" screamed Rinoa, grabbing his arm. She felt a sharp shock as she touched his skin. It jolted her, as if Squall were a live-wire.

She was repelled backwards strongly. Totally stunned, she stayed where she was, sprawled against the chamber's wall.

Squall's body started to stop resisting. His thrashing had died, as had his yells. When he became completely still, he started to levitate off the ground, steadily gaining height until he was about six feet above.

Rinoa stared, horrified, but amazed. She felt something warm brush against her arm, but didn't fully register it.

Suddenly the chamber doors swung open with a tremendous crash. Rinoa looked up fearfully to see a procession march in, fronted by the large Shumi. Directly behind him marched a man bearing a silver dagger on a cushion, followed by several gaunt men, armed with swords.

Rinoa found her strength, and stood up. She quickly ran back to Squall's floating form, and stood defiantly between him and the procession.

She glared at the Shumi hatefully, who simply grinned back. With sudden agility, he grabbed the dagger from it's place on the cushion, and the chamber went silent, except for the steady beat of the drum.

"I won't let you hurt him!" yelled Rinoa furiously. _'I'll fight ...'_ she thought determinedly, although she couldn't help the feeling of helplessness that crept it's way up her spine. It really was impossible, she probably would have had trouble fighting a few of these men, let alone a few hundred.

The Shumi smirked, it's cruel eyes looking amused.

"Just give up." he rasped, starting to advance towards her, dagger raised.

"You will both die, your life blood spilled! Your sacrifice with be sufficient to satisfy the terms of agreement, then the world will be moulded as I wish it."

The Shumi raised a hand to the heavens, clenching its long knobbly white fingers into a fist. He started chanting something under his breath to the steady beat of the drum. Rinoa held her breath, bracing herself. Suddenly Squall screamed out, as electricity seemed to be extracted from his body, and sent careening into the ceiling over head. Rinoa looked at Squall, his face contorted, horrified.

"The god has accepted our offering!" declared the Shumi, as a wild cheer filled the room.

"Stop it!" yelled Rinoa, launching herself at the Shumi. She managed to get in one slap, before he swept her aside with the backside if his hand, sending her to the ground.

"Phase one complete." said the Shumi, hardly noticing Rinoa's attack. He grasped the dagger tightly in both hands, and walked forward towards Squall.

Squall was visibly trembling, and breathing raggedly. His levitation lowered slightly, so he was inline with the Shumi's chest.

Already Rinoa was stumbling up,

"Get away from him!" she screamed, panicking, as the the Shumi brought the dagger up above Squall's chest. He paused for a moment, and looked directly at Rinoa.

"You're next." he said coldly, then he started to bring the dagger down.

"No!" screamed Rinoa, then something strange happened. Squall's body dropped to the floor abruptly, and the Shumi was left holding the dagger precisely where it had been seconds before.

There was silence for a few moments ... the chamber suddenly became inexplicably warmer. Someone cracked their knuckles. Finally, a voice rang out, filling the silence -

"You heard the lady. Get away from the boy."

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Consumed by the hunger to gain power, Sephiroth became mad with rage. He destroyed everything in his path, in search of a way to control Guardian Forces. Finally, after his anger settled, after every way conceivable had been tested, Sephiroth found himself drawn to the book the priest had given him.

He decided to read it, to satisfy his curiously if nothing else. The book told of the guardian forces great power, and benevolence towards nature, but it also told of an entity of great evil. Sephiroth became interested in this dark entity, dubbed 'Diablos.' Instead of searching for Guardian Forces, he decided to seek Diablos ...

**A lot has happened. A lot more will happen. Care to find out? You know what to do. It's labelled 'REVIEW' in the bottom left hand corner. By pressing that button, the likelihood of me posting the next chapter are increased, and the time cut shorter. See? Press the button ... you know you want to ... :)**

**Next time will be a sort of unveiling. **


	9. Clarity

Next chapter ... oh just a note - I'm really just using Sephiroth's name ... not the character or anything like that. His parts are just to explain why everything is happening to Squall and Rinoa ... i could've used ultimicia but Sephiroth sounded more evil. I haven't played final fantasy 7 before ... don't kill me ... not a cross over ... :S Sephiroth is a cool sounding name. I work too much. Customers are scary. Please, spare us employes, and DO NOT throw up on carpet or curtains. (wrote that a week ago at midnight ... the above note ...** (SKIP THIS PART JUST START READING BELOW)**

Everybody seemed too stunned too speak. So the voice repeated itself.

"Yo, get away from the boy." it said. The voice had come from right behind Rinoa ... she span around to see - nothing. There was no one behind her, but there was something radiating heat, (or was it energy?) from that direction.

The Shumi stood frozen, dagger held out in front of him, above Squall's limp body. His beady eyes darted about the room.

"Show yourself!" he snarled.

"Tch. I don't answer to _you. _Are you going to step away, or am I gonna make you?" said the voice.

The Shumi stayed where he was, beady eyes still searching. The men were growing restless, whispering amongst each other.

"Silence!" yelled the Shumi, not moving an inch. Rinoa felt something brush past her, and she looked to her side, to see a boy. She gasped in shock. He looked about her age.

He grinned playfully, and narrowed his warm blue eyes at the Shumi. His hair was blonde, and stood straight up, while a black design snaked it's way down half his face. He cracked his knuckles and raised them in front of him.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to use force." he said, the Shumi looked at him, and his face twisted horror.

A second later the boy vanished, in a flash of colour. The Shumi was sent reeling away from Squall a second later, by an invisible force. It looked as though a particularly strong gust of wind blew him away.

"Sleep." muttered the voice from next to Rinoa. Rinoa turned, startled to see the boy right next to her again. Man he was quick ... and with that one word all the men flanking the Shumi, crumpled to the ground, trying in vain to fight off an invisible force that seemed to make their eyelids droop, and their limbs go limp.

The men up above started yelling, and the few men left awake advanced on Rinoa and the boy with their swords raised.

The Shumi stood up shakily, looking flustered.

"Attack! Attack! Attack!" he yelled, waving his arms wildly at his remaining men.

The boy flexed his arms towards his toes, and clicked his neck, before jabbing lightly at the air. He assumed a fighting stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.

He smirked._ Too easy ..._

On man charged at him blindly, sword raised above his head. The boy ducked the blade easily, jabbing his foe in the stomach. The man fell to the ground, curled up in a groaning ball. Another took a stab at his midsection, but the boy flipped backwards out of the way. He delivered a round-house kick to the man just below the shoulder, and sent him flying.

In short, he made quick work of them.

The last two men lost heart, and ran away, closely followed by the Shumi who was still shouting,

"You idiots! ATTACK!"

"Heh. Me- one, Mr Ugly - ZERO!" said the boy, punching the air. He turned back towards Rinoa, who was where he had left her, crouched on the ground. She was staring at him with her mouth open, rooted to the ground with shock.

The grinned happily at her and marched over to where she crouched.

"Yo. I'm Zell, nice to meet ya." he said, holding out a hand. Rinoa, too stunned to speak simply stared. Zell withdrew his hand, looking slightly disappointed. Rinoa shook herself slightly.

"Sorry, I'm Rinoa." she said nervously.

"Well I'm charged to help you guys blow this joint! So lets go.." said Zell. Rinoa nodded.

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

When Squall drifted into consciousness, the first thing he registered was that he was extremely warm, comfortable, and not in any pain. The shock of it made him wake up completely. He sat up quickly, and found himself in a cave. He was lying next to a well established fire.

It crackled fervently, throwing shadows against the cave wall. Something moved to his left. Squall's head whipped round to see Rinoa. She was sleeping soundly, curled up on her side.

Squall frowned and thought back ... he remembered something tranquil washing across his mind, the frightened look on Rinoa's faces, feeling panicked and cornered in that chamber, then complete and utter blackness.

He frowned and stood up, taking in his surroundings more carefully. The cave wasn't very deep, only a few meters, and curiously, it seemed to be a near perfect sphere carved into the rock wall.

The way out of the cave was a perfect circle, framing the inky sky, with it's splattering of stars.

_'How the hell did we get here ...?' _thought Squall, examining the sky thoughtfully.

Something moved out in the darkness. Two silhouettes moved against the sky. Squall frowned and glanced towards Rinoa, who was still sleeping soundly. He edged towards the entrance stealthily.

Voices drifted in, speaking in hushed tones.

"We can't make them do that!"

"What other way is there?"

"... If we were to dispose of them first ..."

"You no very well-" Squall tripped on a loose pebble, and stumbled slightly. Both voices ceased. Squall sighed. That was brilliant, he'd blown his cover.

"Hello?" Squall called out wearily, figuring there was no point in trying to hide since the mysterious figures were obviously alerted to his presence.

"Heeey! Looks like he's awake!" said a cheery voice loudly, bounding into view.

It was a girl, clad in a very bright yellow dress. Her eyes sparkled green, teeming with energy, and her hair flipped out at the ends, as though she'd been shocked with electricity. She seemed to glow ... or was it just the brightness of her dress?

"Ha see? It did work!" said another deeper voice. A boy walked into view, grinning mischievously. Although his eyes were a clear blue, there was something fiery about them.

For some reason, his clothes seemed to be singed ... there was a burn hole below his left shoulder, and the bottom of his pants were charred ... Squall thought it odd, but not as odd as the fact that he too gave off the same strange glow, _without_ the aid of a bright yellow dress.

"HI! Nice to meet you! I'm Selphie and this is Zell-"

"Yo." interjected Zell waving an arm,

"-I spose you're a bit confused?"

"..." Squall's face remained blank, observing the pair carefully.

"That's understandable." said Zell nodding,

"Man, that was a close call. Nearly like before," said Selphie "I'm guessing you want some answers? Why they kidnapped you and Rinoa, what they were trying to do just before, and who we are." said Selphie, counting things off on her fingers.

" ...Yeah. That'd be good." said Squall slowly.

"First, you might wanna get comfortable. I don't know how long this will take ..." said Zell.

They all headed back into the cave, and seated themselves around the fire, Squall next to Rinoa's sleeping form, Zell and Selphie opposite. Squall reached over to wake Rinoa, but Selphie quickly stopped him by yelling,

"DON'T WAKE HER UP!" Rinoa stirred slightly, but stayed asleep.

"Whew, that was a close call," said Selphie,

"Why?" asked Squall slowly.

"We've already told her everything already, and this is the first sleep she's had in about three days."

"What? Three days?" asked Squall, confused.

"Yeah, she was so worried about you that she wouldn't sleep. This is the third night we've been here waiting for you to wake up. You gave a us fright there, we thought you might have reacted badly to the magic we used, but I guess you just needed time to recuperate." said Zell.

Squall looked over at Rinoa. '_She was so worried about you that she wouldn't sleep ...'_

"Ok ... anyway, what shall we start with ..." said Selphie eagerly,

"What happened before?" asked Squall, tearing his gaze away from Rinoa.

"You mean with the sacrificial ceremony?" asked Selphie.

"... Yeah ..."

"Well, you see," said Zell "Norg wants to -"

"Norg?"

"Ok, the ugly white blobby thing?"

"Oh that."

"He was trying to summon Diablos. In order to do so, it is necessary to sacrifice a pure son and daughter of the world. They chose you because your father is leader of Esther, basically one half of the world, and Rinoa is the daughter of the General Caraway, leader of the other half, Galbadia. Also, because you two are prominently in the public's eye, it was easy for them to find out about your purity status."

"... I see ..." muttered Squall, deep in thought. Things were starting to slot into place.

"What about you two?" asked Squall.

"We are avatars!" said Selphie. Squall looked blank.

"Basically, we're manifestations of powerful omnipotent beings in the physical world. We're embodiments." said Selphie.

"I'm Ifrit, and Selphie's Quezcotl."

"Or you could say he's fire, and I'm electricity, see ..." said Selphie, putting her palm out to show Squall. A ball of energy formed in the palm of her hand, crackling with energy.

Zell put forward his palm next, and a ball of fire burned at it's centre. Squall was speechless.

"Ifrit and Quezcotl are the guardians forces for fire and electricity. They choose human avatars this time because their plant ones from last time were found and destroyed too easily." said Zell.

"You with us so far?" asked Selphie. Squall yawned widely, and attempted to nod at the same time. How could he feel so sleepy when he'd just woken up?

"You better get some sleep. You're body is still recovering from what it lost." said Selphie, looking concerned.

Squall found himself, surprisingly, too tired to argue. He leaned against the cave wall, and easily banished wandering thoughts that usually got in the way of sleep. He closed his eyes.

'_She was so worried about you that she wouldn't sleep ...'_

Squall found a small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth, as he fell into oblivion.

**So depressed ... driver license ... failed ... :( stupid left indicator ... faulty ... anyway ... hope you all have had joyful reading ... feedback is always appreciated ...:)**


	10. Calm

**YAY! I passed this time! Ya know what they say, second time lucky. lol I finished reading Harry Potter. My sister hadn't. It was great. All had to say was, "I'll tell you who dies ..." and she was eating out of my palm ... heh heh. Sounds evil I know, but I'm not **_that_** bad a sibling ... I bought her a milkshake the other day ... in exchange for her soul ... lol just joking. ANYWAY :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) : ) :) : ): thanks for the reviews!!! you rock! **

**Lol I'm back. Sorry. Xtra screwed up and out internet was stuffed couldn't send emails or anything, and then when it got fixed, I reread over this decided I didn't like it, and started over. ... ... anyway there it is ...**

Squall teetered on the edge of consciousness, unwilling to wake. He registered somewhere at the back of his mind that someone was calling his name, and nudging his arm gently, but refused to acknowledge it, covering his face with his arms.

"Leave me alone ..." he mumbled.

"Oh my gosh! If you don't wake up NOW, I will sit on you!" said someone. That perked Squall's consciousness slightly,

_'That wouldn't be good.' _it whispered.

'_Neither is getting up.' _replied the sleepy half of Squall's brain.

'_Good point.'_

_'I thought so t- !'_

Squall was jerked out of his internal discussion violently by a weight dropping onto his stomach. His eyes snapped open, and through a sleepy haze, he could make out a white and black blob. He reacted on instinct.

He grabbed at the blob, gripping what felt like an arm. He pulled hard, and with a yelp from the creature, he and the blob rolled over. He pinned it to the ground.

"What did you do that fo-" began Squall, but then his eyes focused as he became completely conscious. His mind blanked when he realised he was straddling Rinoa, pinning her arms on either side of her head.

"What did _you_ do that for!" she yelled breathlessly, wincing.

Squall said nothing, still too shocked to move.

"You want to get off me?" asked Rinoa, irritated. As Squall watched her lips move, he had the strangest urge to see what they felt like.

"Hello?" jolted out of his reverie, Squall suddenly sprang off Rinoa as if she were a live wire. He felt oddly dazed.

"Jeez I gave you plenty of warning." said Rinoa, wincing as she rotated her shoulder.

"Sorry." said Squall distantly. He shook his head experimentally, as if it were filled with water, trying to get rid of a sudden grogginess that had taken over his body.

"Well come on, we have to go now." said Rinoa briskly, getting up and brushing herself off. Squall looked up at her blankly for a moment. He was feeling incredibly slow and out of it. Rinoa crouched down next to him.

"Are you okay Squall?" she asked, peering into his face, looking very concerned. She placed a hand against his forehead, "You don't have a fever do you?"

"Wha-?" Squall felt all the blood rushing to his face. He stood up abruptly.

"Lets go." he said gruffly, marching towards the cave entrance. Rinoa rolled her eyes.

"Wait a second, you don't even know where we're going!" she called, jogging after him.

"Where?" he asked, halting.

"We're going to the hot spring. I saw it on the way here, and that's where we're meeting Selphie and Zell. _I'll_ lead the way." said Rinoa, stepping around Squall smartly. She walked out confidently into the sunlight, and turned left. Squall followed closely behind.

"I hope you know where we're going."

"Chill out."

(o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o)

Ten minutes later, after following a winding path that took them through the forest, Rinoa and Squall stumbled upon a wide glistening pool of clear water.

Selphie and Zell were standing close to the pool ... well, Selphie stood close to the pool, while Zell stood a good two metres away, eyeing the water suspiciously.

"Hey!" yelled Selphie, waving her arms maniacally. Zell raised an arm weakly and gave a sort of half wave.

Rinoa strode around the pool, Squall close in tow.

"So why did we have to come here?" asked Rinoa.

"Well, we figured that since you're mortals you might like to wash up a bit." said Selphie cheerily.

"I don't like water." mumbled Zell,

"Actually that would be pretty good," said Rinoa, "But what about clothes?"

"Rinoa, I'm a highly powerful omnipotent embodiment. I can whip you up some clothes easy! Just tell me what you want." said Selphie airily.

"Okay ..." Rinoa then turned to Squall,

"Um ... how are we going to do this? Should I go first? Or do you want to?"

"Don't be silly! You're going at the same time." said Selphie firmly.

"But ... but that's ..."

"Don't worry, just get in the water with your clothes on. Its a magical spring."

"Um .. all right ..." Suddenly Squall let out a yell behind Rinoa, as tripped over something, and went flying into Rinoa's back, sending both of them cascading into the pool with a loud splash.

Squall swallowed a mouthful of water, and came up spluttering. He didn't have long to recover before he was hit unceremoniously with surge of warm water. He heard Rinoa giggling merrily a couple metres away,

"That's for attacking me when you woke up, and this -" she splashed him again, "Is for pushing me in."

"You know what Rinoa?" said Squall.

"What?" she replied

"This is war." he said seriously. Rinoa burst out laughing, while Squall let a shadow of a smile cross his features.

"Try to keep the water _in_ the pool." yelled out Zell nervously. Squall sent a wave of water in Rinoa direction, which she dived under. He watched carefully, and waited for her to surface, waiting for the right moment.

As she broke the surface, Rinoa got a mouthful of water. She turned around, to prevent a relentless tide of splashing getting her in the face.

"All right! All right! Truce! I give in Squall." yelled Rinoa, and the splashing ceased. She floated on her back over to where he was treading. The water was a lot deeper then it looked, when Squall touched the bottom, only half his arm protruded above the surface.

"Hey Squall," said Rinoa as she floated closer.

"Hmm?" he replied. Rinoa righted herself, still getting closer.

"What would you do ..." she kept coming closer, and Squall found his heart beat quickening, as he subconsciously moved backwards away from her, "... if I were to, say, do this ..." Squall found the edge of the pool at his back, and Rinoa was leaning closer to his face.

His brain froze up, he had no idea what to do. Rinoa had closed her eyes, and she was so close now that he could see her individual eyelashes, stark against her pale skin.

His first instinct was to flee, and he was about to, when Rinoa sprang on him. He only had time to look surprised, before Rinoa had him in a head lock.

Squall felt relieved that she hadn't done what he thought she was going to do, but for some unknown reason he felt deeply disappointed.

He guessed it was because Rinoa had 'beaten' him. He considered his fighting prowess to be better than hers, and here he was getting his ass handed to him. That had to be why he was so bitterly disappointed ...

"Haha! I win Squall!" she whispered in is ear. Squall smirked, then pushed himself under water. Rinoa screamed out a "Woah!" before she was dragged under as well. Squall swam out further, Rinoa clinging to his back.

She'd need to take a breath eventually, and Squall wasn't going up for her. Finally, her arms loosened around his neck, and she drifted upwards. Squall struck out away from her, wanting to be our of splashing range before he surfaced again. Finally, he surfaced. He looked out across the water, but he couldn't see Rinoa. He frowned, then finally spotted the blue of her shirt. She was floating lifelessly face down.

"Oh no..." muttered Squall. He swam as quickly as he could towards her, wishing he'd surfaced straight away, and not decided to swim away. He lifted her above the water. Her face remained still, eyes closed. Squall dragged her limp body to the side of the pool, and lifted her out. He lay her carefully on the grass. She still wasn't moving.

_'Where are Zell and Selphie?'_ thought Squall fervently. He looked down at Rinoa's perfectly still face. _'CPR ...'_ thought Squall. Grimacing, he opened her mouth gently, and lowered his own towards it, pausing for a moment, an inch away. Rinoa opened her eyes, and grinned mischievously. Squall stared for a moment, random fragments of coherent thought flitting across his mind,

_'What the hell! ... I thought she was ... She tricked me! I'm going to-!' _but Squall's mind blanked as Rinoa closed the distance between them.

**It stops there for now. :) sorry for the very long wait ... ... ... very sorry ...**


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